App Now Integrates With AOPA Flight Planner

DroidEFB, an aviation planning and in-flight support app for Android devices has announced that the popular add-on, QuickWeather, will now be included free with each subscription and that pilots can now use DroidEFB to integrate AOPA Flight Planner functionality with handheld Android devices. An impressive list of additional new features and improvements have also been added in the latest version of the app, DroidEFB 2.4.8.

QuickWeather utilizes color-coded METARs and TAFs to depict weather at specific airports, including animated radar, AIRMETs, SIGMETs and TFRs.  Weather information is automatically updated while connected to the Internet and the app is running. DroidEFB also caches the data so that it is still available when the system is off-line.   

AOPA members who are also DroidEFB subscribers can plan their flight using the unique features of the AOPA Flight Planner on their desktop or laptop computer then easily send those routes to DroidEFB on their tablet and take advantage of GPS moving-map navigation, NOAA and NEXRAD weather overlays, approach plates and taxi diagrams, weight-and-balance information, note taking, flight plan filing, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) information, and more.                               
DroidEFB, which has been described as ForeFlight for Android platforms, provides situational awareness with moving maps or charts based on FAA sectionals. It features terminal procedures or plates, airport and taxi diagrams, airport/facility directories, and flight plan filing. Layers such as “bread crumb” tracking can be added as well as some layers that require Internet or ADS-B to show NEXRAD, winds aloft, AIRMETs, SIGMETs.  This data, also cached for off-line use, is available across the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.  DroidEFB works with a host of Bluetooth or WiFi ADS-B receivers and even has the ability to display AHRS.  

“Integrating QuickWeather and AOPA Flight Planner into the latest iteration of DroidEFB aren’t the only improvements we’ve made,” said chief executive officer Paul Coleman. “We are committed to ensuring that this app is the best value in aviation navigation. It was developed and is still owned by the pilots and software engineers who introduced it originally and we remain focused on advancing its versatility, technology, ease of use, and reliability,” he added.

In the latest iteration of DroidEFB, users can add or export waypoints, or obtain a quick translation of raw TAFs and METARs (including METAR remarks), simply by tapping an icon.  DroidEFB also provides a graphic depiction of METAR trends by using  METAR history. "Current users have also commented on some of the app’s unique features, including UTM and MGRS coordinate support, automatic logbook, ability to load a STAR or SID, integrated weight and balance and much more all detailed in a running change log.  They also give DroidEFB high marks for maintaining a high performance app that is reliable and stable with a start time of only a few seconds.  Users also comment on the small footprint, clean and simple interface and display even as new features and capabilities are added,” he pointed out.

“Though we won’t be exhibiting, the company will have a presence at the upcoming National Business Aviation Association-Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) in Orlando, October 15-18 so that we can take advantage of face-to-face interaction with our customers and get their input on future upgrades, as well,” Coleman noted.  “There are thousands of pilots across the country, and tens of thousands around the world, using the Android operating system. We want them to know that we are catering to their specific platforms to deliver the best user experience possible.”

(Source: DroidEFB news release)

FMI: www.droidefb.com